Vinyl Privacy Fence Installation, Built Solid and Private

What Makes a Fence a True Privacy Fence?

A true privacy fence is a solid panel of interlocking tongue-and-groove boards with zero gaps, so nothing shows through and the view into your yard is fully blocked. That solid screen is what sets it apart from an open or spaced fence.

Privacy, Semi-Privacy, or Picket: Which Level?

Start by deciding how much you want to see through. A privacy fence is solid with no gaps for a full screen. A semi-privacy fence leaves small gaps between the boards for airflow and filtered light. A picket fence spaces the boards about 2.5 to 3 inches apart for a low, decorative line.

Screening level	Gap between boards	Best for
Privacy	None, solid	Full backyard screening, pools, pets
Semi-privacy	Small gaps	Airflow with most of the view blocked
Picket	About 2.5 to 3 in	A decorative, open front-yard look

Full privacy is the solid, no-gap option. Want airflow, or a low open fence instead? That is semi-privacy or picket fencing.

Your Privacy Style Options, Vertical to Two-Tone

Once you’re set on full privacy, the choice is which solid style suits your home. Vertical boards give the classic, formal look. Horizontal usually reads cleaner and more modern. Two-tone mixes a body color with a contrasting frame, and a lattice or picket top adds an open decorative cap. Pick the one that fits your house, then settle the color.

How a Solid Privacy Panel Is Built for Wind

A solid panel catches wind like a sail, so how it’s built matters. Each section runs on 5-by-5 posts with top and bottom rails, a middle rail on taller panels, tongue-and-groove boards locked between them, U-channels at the posts, and caps on top.

For wind, we run metal inserts through those rails, including the extra middle rail the tall panels carry: vinyl outside, metal inside, and it takes any realistic wind this area gets. One owner waited a year to review hers, then reported it rode out a scary January windstorm fine.

How Tall Can a Privacy Fence Be, and Do You Need a Permit?

In most of California, a backyard side or rear fence runs about 6 feet by right and a front-yard fence closer to 3 to 4 feet, and a building permit usually comes into play once a fence climbs past that.

The exact number is set by your city, not one statewide rule, and it varies a lot, especially in the Bay Area. We build from 2 to 8 feet plus custom heights, engineered to hold. Rules vary by city, so verify the height and permit rule for your address with your local building department.

What Drives the Cost of a Privacy Fence?

No two privacy fences cost the same. What moves the number is the linear footage, the height, your ground and any slope, whether an old fence has to come out, how many gates you need, and the color or texture family you pick.

Vinyl runs more up front than a basic wood fence, but it doesn’t rot, never needs paint, and carries a transferable limited lifetime warranty. A ballpark over the phone is usually easy; the real number takes a free on-site visit, where a salesperson sees the whole picture.

How We Install Your Solid Privacy Fence

By law, underground utilities have to be located and marked before anyone digs, which is what the free 811 service is for. We then take down and haul away the old fence, set footings deep enough to hold a tall solid panel, and build each section on site. When the last cap goes on, we clean up and leave the yard the way we found it. A typical run goes up in about a day, though a long line or heavy demolition can add time.

Warranty and What Upkeep Actually Looks Like

The vinyl carries a transferable limited lifetime warranty on the material, and we back our own labor with a 5-year workmanship warranty. Upkeep is light: vinyl doesn’t rot and never needs paint, stain, or sanding, and it doesn’t yellow in the sun. Install it once, then rinse it with soap and water twice a year. That’s the whole maintenance plan.

Color at close range

Stand a foot from a solid run and the color is most of what you see, which is why this one gets thought about. Plain tones keep it quiet. A grain reads as boards from a few steps back. Textured tones break the light. In every case the color is in the panel, not on it.

• White

  

• Tan

  

• Clay

  

• Gray

  

• Coastal Cedar

  

• Dark Walnut

  

• Dark Sequoia

  

• Weathered Aspen

  

• Mesquite

  

• Slate Gray

  

• Arctic Blend

  

• Brazilian Blend

  

• Sierra Blend

  

• Weathered Blend

  

What else the shop builds

Screening a yard is one job of several. We hang the gates that break a run, build to the measurements we take rather than to stock lengths, and turn out the same screening in aluminum when someone wants metal on the line.